The

Edgerton

Database

 


 

Home

Index

Sources

Search

Researchers

Notes...

Contact info

Photos

Links

Credits…

 

 

Horace Backus Edgerton, son of Uriah and Anna (Smith) Edgerton.

 

born:

December 31, 1799; Bennington, Bennington Co., VT.  (from age at death, GI – “ae 47y, 26d”)

died:

January 26, 1847; Bennington, Bennington Co., VT.  (GI)

buried:

Hinsdillville Cemetery; Bennington, Bennington Co., VT.  (GI)

 

married:

February 23, 1823; Wilmington, Windham Co., VT.

 

Fanny Bowker, daughter of Elijah and Mary (Wood) Bowker.

 

born:

April 12, 1803; Wilmington, Windham Co., VT.

died:

March 21, 1870; Pittstown, Rensselaer Co., NY.  (GI)

buried:

Hinsdillville Cemetery; Bennington, Bennington Co., VT.  (GI)

 

Children:

  1. Norman, b. February 12, 1823; Wilmington, Windham Co., VT.
  2. George Horace, b. September 1824; Wilmington, Windham Co., VT.
  3. Mary, b. December 20, 1827; Bennington, Bennington Co., VT.
  4. Martha H., b. August 1833; Bennington, Bennington Co., VT.
  5. George Horace, b. March 4, 1844; Bennington, Bennington Co., VT.

 


Horace Backus Edgerton was born in Bennington, Vermont on December 31, 1899, the youngest son of Uriah and Anna (Smith) Edgerton.  Horace’s birth was not registered at Bennington, nor is any record found elsewhere in the Bennington County vicinity.  The birthdate listed above is derived from the precise age at death listed on Horace’s gravestone.

 

Horace was raised in Bennington, Vermont and resided there for most of his life – in the northern district of town known as Hinsdillville.  He was married at Wilmington, Vermont on February 23, 1823 to Miss Fanny Bowker, daughter of Elijah and Mary (Wood) Bowker of Wilmington.  Fanny was born at Wilmington on April 12, 1803.

 

Horace and Fanny Edgerton had a family of five children:  three sons, Norman, George Horace (1st) and George Horace (2nd); and two daughters, Mary and Martha H.  The elder two children were born at Wilmington and the younger three at Bennington.  The death of the elder George Horace was noted in the Harwood Diaries (now held at the Bennington Historical Society) under the date June 8, 1836, as follows:

 

“Horace Edgerton 2nd…died at Bennington, Vermont…Wheels of wagon ran over his head and killed him instantly.”

 

The household of Horace B. Edgerton was recorded in the 1830 Federal Census of Bennington, Bennington County, Vermont (pg. 41), with the following enumeration:

 

1 male “of 30 and under 40”  (Horace);

3 males “of 20 and under 30”  (?);

2 males “of 5 and under 10”  (sons Norman and George Horace 1st)

1 female “of 20 and under 30”  (wife Fanny); and,

1 female “under 5 years of age”  (daughter Mary).

 

The household of Horace B. Edgerton was recorded in the 1840 Federal Census of Bennington, Bennington County, Vermont (pg. 256), with the following enumeration:

 

1 male “of 40 and under 50”  (Horace);

1 male “of 15 and under 20”  (son Norman);

1 female “of 30 and  under 40”  (wife Fanny);

1 female “of 10 and under 15”  (daughter Mary); and,

1 female  “of 5 and under 10”  (daughter Martha).

 

On May 20, 1844, “Harris B. Edgerton” of Bennington, Vermont made a testimonial on behalf of Dr. Ira G. Frazier of Troy, whom he had consulted for treatment of his chronic cancer.  Horace claimed that after taking the doctor’s medicine for four weeks, “one of the cancers on my neck as large as a chestnut, fell out, without the use of even a knife, plaster or any other outward application.”  The testimonial was published as advertisement for Dr. Frazier’s treatment in several newspapers.  Ironically, it appeared in the Buffalo Courier issue of Saturday, October 16, 1847 – nine months after Horace’s death.

 

Horace B. Edgerton died on January 26, 1847, presumably at Bennington, Vermont.  He was buried at the Hinsdillville Cemetery in North Bennington, where his gravestone was inscribed:  “HORACE B. EDGERTON / DIED / Jan. 26, 1847 / AE 47 yrs & 26 ds.”

 

Following Horace’s death, his eldest son, Norman, presumably took over the family homestead.  Norman was listed as head of household in the 1850 Federal Census of Bennington, Bennington County, Vermont (pg. 225; dwelling #683; family #693; enum. October 22, 1850), with the following enumeration:

 

Norman Edgerton

45

b. VT

clerk

Mary

40

b. VT

 

Mary

18

b. VT

 

Martha

13

b. VT

 

George

7

b. VT

 

 

Although the ages listed in the enumeration are largely inaccurate, it seems certain that this was the family of Horace B. Edgerton.  Norman was actually aged 27 and his wife Martha (“Mary”) was aged 28.  The names of the three younger children are correct, but the ages are all off by a few years.

 

The household of Mrs. Fanny (Bowker) Edgerton was recorded in the 1860 Federal Census of Bennington, Bennington County, Vermont (pg. 749; dwelling #827; family #864; enum. July 18, 1860), as follows:

 

Fanny Edgerton

57

b. VT

 

Martha

20

b. VT

 

 

In the 1860’, Fanny went to live with her daughter and son-in-law, Martha and Samuel Wrisley, at Pittstown, Rensselaer County, New York, where she died there on March 21, 1870.   She was buried in the family plot at Hinsdillville Cemetery, beside her husband, Horace, and two sons, George H. 1st and George H. 2nd.  According to the inscription on her gravestone, she was “aged 66 years, 11 months and 22 days”.

 

Fanny’s death was noted in the 1870 Federal Census Mortality Schedule of “Persons who Died during the Year ending 1st June 1870” in Pittstown, Rensselaer County, New York (pg. 544, line 16), with the following particulars:

 

Name:

Fanny Edgerton

Age:

66

Birthplace:

Vermont

Marital Status:

Widowed

Occupation:

Keeping house

Month of death:

March

Cause of death:

Apoplexy

 


 

Original Source Documents:

 

Newspaper item – testimonial of Horace Backus Edgerton; Buffalo Courier – Saturday, October 16, 1847.

1830 Federal Census – household of Horace Backus Edgerton; Bennington, Bennington Co., VT.

1840 Federal Census – household of Horace Backus Edgerton; Bennington, Bennington Co., VT.

1850 Federal Census – household of Norman Edgerton; Bennington, Bennington Co., VT.

1860 Federal Census – household of Mrs. Fanny (Bowker) Edgerton; Bennington, Bennington Co., VT.

1870 Federal Census Mortality Schedule – Mrs Fanny (Bowker) Edgerton; Pittstown, Rensselaer Co., NY; pg. 544, line 16.